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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I know Náhuatl is taught here and there. I
am not questioning that. I am amazed at the sudden need arising from a decree
that involves several million people. Ebrard has no influence whatsoever over
what is taught at UNAM or UAM, but the Universidad Autónoma del Distrito
Federal was sold to people on the pretense it was going to be an innovative
project geared towards filling voids elitist education had previously
neglected. Yet I don’t see those innovative programs. In Literature they have
mimicked, to the extreme, the UNAM curriculum. I see the UACM as yet another
employment unit to accommodate the friends of the PRD.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>As for the interest in Náhuatl coming from
Anthropologists it has always been the case. ENA has taught languages through
satellite programs in Morelos and other places and validated the study of
several languages. There is a true revival of those languages today, more than
ever. It only makes me sad it was never the interest of my colleagues in
Literature or Critical Theory and/or Cultural Studies. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>In UNAM Linguistics is not separate from
Filosofía and Letras as it is in the UC system (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">California</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>)
Yet in the UC or in UNAM there isn’t a program fully devoted to Mesoamerican
Languages. Those professors engaging in research of those languages still do so
on their own and with lots of monetary restrictions.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I am truly concerned about the reception
of Náhuatl once it becomes a mandatory subject. Already many in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Mexico City</st1:City></st1:place> were
questioning the measure claiming it was more important to learn how to use
computers than Náhuatl… and as I said before, resistance to English has been
the case, even though English has been mandatory since the times of
Vasconcelos. People dread the mandatory subjects, that is why I mentioned
Civismo. Just imagine how having instructors improvised in the subject will
contribute to such a resistance. The problem will deepen when all those
students realize the university does not have a structure welcoming Náhuatl as
a main subject, but rather a secondary one, for which studying is going to be
more of a calvary than a smooth project.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>My final point. To be sincere, any project
like this has to follow a realistic time frame. In 2008-2009, that is next
year, all of the sudden, all schools will have to include Náhuatl. If that is
not “de a plumazo”, what is?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Maria Bolivar<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
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</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Karen Dakin
[mailto:dakin@servidor.unam.mx] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Saturday, August 18, 2007
10:51 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> Maria Bolivar<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Cc:</span></b> Karen Dakin<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Nahuat-l] Náhuatl
mandatory in public schools in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Mexico
City</st1:City></st1:place></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>María Bolivar -- <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Just to provide you with more accurate information, since sometimes it
is hard to find out what is taught where at the UNAM. Nahuatl, basically
as used in documents, is taught at the licenciatura level in the FFL, in
the History curriculum, but also includes students from other areas, and it is
a central part of the graduate programs in Estudios Mesoamericanos (along with
Mayan and colonial Zapotec and periodically Tojolabal), Antropología, and also
included for those interested in the graduate program in Lingüísitica. A course
aimed more at spoken varieties is also given in Antropologicas. There are also
students who work on projects involving teaching Nahuatl in the Applied
Linguistics program. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Karen Dakin<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> nahuatl-bounces@lists.famsi.org
[mailto:nahuatl-bounces@lists.famsi.org] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>Maria Bolivar<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Saturday, August 18, 2007
10:32 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> 'John Sullivan, Ph.D.'<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Cc:</span></b> nahuatl@lists.famsi.org<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> RE: [Nahuat-l] Náhuatl
mandatory in public schools in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mexico
City</st1:place></st1:City></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Well it is wonderful that Marcelo Ebrard
thinks about that. But it might just be a way to fill the Zocalo with more
people. I would have loved to see other measures coupled with that one. Like a <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">School</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Náhuatl</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> in the newly created Universidad
Autónoma de la Ciudad de México or the creation of communitary schools to
prepare speakers of Náhuatl like John does, to participate in courses to form
professors. But none of that has been going on. At UNAM Náhuatl is not even
part of the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras and our intellectuals would not even
dream of relinquishing some of their lines to have Náhuatl figure in their
curricula.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>So as wonderful as it is that Marcelo can
think beyond his predecessors, I find the measure superficial and “impossible”.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I taught for many years Civismo, a
mandatory subject in all schools, public and private… My students went to class
with an attitude. The program, imposed by the Secretaría de Educación Pública
was so boring even Political Scientists, Historians and/or Social
Scientists considered dreadful to teach it. So, I cannot begin to imagine how
they will implement a mandatory Náhuatl Program. My experience in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> is that when
“speaking” Spanish was mandatory for instructors, vía the BCLAD, corruption
erupted everywhere and instructors who did not Speak Spanish where trained to
jump in, with only a test as requirement.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>It will be interested to see how this
evolves. We are talking about a school population of 8 million?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Maria Bolívar<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> John Sullivan, Ph.D.
[mailto:idiez@mac.com] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Saturday, August 18, 2007
9:59 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> Maria Bolivar<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Cc:</span></b> nahuatl@lists.famsi.org<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Nahuat-l] Náhuatl
mandatory in public schools in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Mexico
City</st1:City></st1:place></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Mar<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
</span></font></span>It's just politics. The decree started on paper and it
will end there.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>John<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>John Sullivan, Ph.D.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Profesor de lengua y cultura nahua<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Universidad Auta de Zacatecas<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Instituto de Docencia e Investigacitnola de Zacatecas, A.C.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Tacuba 152, int. 47<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Centro Histo<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Zacatecas, Zac. 98000<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>M</span></font><font face=SimSun><span style='font-family:SimSun'>鸩</span></font>co<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Oficina: +52 (492) 925-3415<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Fax: +52 (492) 925-3416<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Domicilio: +52 (492) 768-6048<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Celular: +52 (492) 118-0854<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="mailto:idiez@mac.com">idiez@mac.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>www.idiez.org.mx<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>www.macehualli.org<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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